Poole beat battling Bears
REDCAR boss Gavin Parr praised his septet’s team effort after the “Agilia” Bears fell to a 48-42 defeat at Poole in the Cab Direct Championship play-off semi-final.
Parr admits he thought the Bears could have been closer but was happy overall with the team’s performance. Parr said, “ I’m massively happy but slightly disappointed as I felt we could have been closer to the Pirates but overall, it sets up a fascinating second leg.”
The Pirates number one, Richard Lawson took home a full maximum to lead the hosts to victory with Danny King hitting nine for the Bears.
Poole had a dream start to proceedings as both Richard Lawson and Tobias Thomsen made the perfect start to record a maximum heat advantage with both Bears chasing in vain.
However, Redcar hit back in heat two as Ace Pijper won convincingly, and with Jody Scott riding beyond his years to hold off the experienced Paul Starke, the “Agilia” Bears drew level. Nevertheless, the Pirates are not the reigning champions for nothing as they hit their second 5-1 as Zach Cook won, and with Lewi Kerr 2nd, the Pirates were back in the lead.
After Anders Rowe was warned for moving in the opening attempt to stage heat four, the re-run saw the young Brit take the win, and with William Cairns 3rd after Pijper was the victim of a tough second bend, Poole stretched their advantage to six by the seaside.
Redcar showed true battling spirit to haul themselves within two of their illustrious hosts as Wright won, and with Mulford 2nd (from the favoured 1 & 3 gates), the Championship chasing Bears were within two of Poole.
After a shared heat six won by the unbeaten Lawson, drama followed in the original staging of heat seven. The race saw Nick Morris and Paul Starke come close together, but with no real contact, Starke hit the deck with most onlookers believing all four would return for a re-run.
However, to the aghast of the Pirates crowd, the British reserve was excluded from the re-run. The restaging saw Rowe just get the better of Edwards for the win, but with Redcar not having to hold off an opposing rider, the gap remained at two points.
If the home supporters were furious with the decision to exclude Starke, it turned to shock after heat eight as Pijper won, and with the impressive Mulford 2nd, Redcar had a two point lead at Wimborne Road.
Heat nine saw the Pirates regain the initiative as their impressive middle order of Kerr and Cook hit another maximum to send the home support wild.
More drama followed in the very next race after Thomsen hit the deck in the original staging. The re-run saw Edwards taste the Wimborne Road shale, with the Bear initially excluded. However, the replay showed Thomsen’s helmet peak touched the tapes, meaning the Dane was excluded and Edwards reinstated.
The 3rd and final staging saw both Bears gate, but with Lawson moving between both off the second bend, he won again, to ensure Poole remained ahead. Rowe continued his undefeated run to win heat 11, and with Starke coming to the party and getting the better of Mulford, Poole’s advantage was doubled with the Pirates 35-31 ahead.
After Kerr completed a strong evening with a win in a shared heat 12, Lawson continued on his merry way to win heat 13, but with Rowe unable to follow as he finished 4th, the Bears remained within four.
The penultimate race produced fireworks as Morris and Cook exchanged passes, but with Morris gaining the upper hand and taking the win, Redcar remained within four to set up a last heat decider in Dorset.
The final heat saw King and Lawson clash entering bend one, but with Lawson coming out the better of the two Brits, he collected the win to complete a full maximum, and with Cook 3rd, Poole completed a 48-42 win to take a six point lead to the ECCO Arena in early October.
Poole Pirates = 48
1. Richard Lawson = 15 max
2. Tobias Thomsen = 2+1
3. Lewis Kerr = 9+1
4. Zach Cook = 8+1
5. Anders Rowe = 9
6. Paul Starke = 3+1
7. Will Cairns = 2
Redcar Bears = 42
1. Charles Wright = 7+1
2. Jake Mulford = 4+2
3. Jason Edwards = 6
4. Nick Morris = 6+2
5. Danny King = 9
6. Jody Scott = 4+3
7. Ace Pijper = 6